Select one of the following and craft a 5-7 page essay in response to it. Be sure to take a clear position, forging an argumentative thesis that will guide your essay. Your essay should include an introduction 3-5 points of support (fleshed out through your body paragraphs), and a conclusion. 

(A) Louise Levanthes's When China Ruled the seas recounts the storied expeditions of Zheng. He and his fleet in the early-to-mid 15th Century. How do you view the Zheng He voyages? Where they founded on the principled ideas of diversity, curiosity, or benevolence? Were they instead rooted in a crude self-interest? Were the voyages fundamentally about the Yongle Emperor's effort to raise his own reputation? Were they simply about profit seeking? What were the zheng He voyages ultimately about?

(B) Jonathan Spence's The death of Woman Wang offers a glimse into the lives of rural Chinese during the 7th century, depicting their place in society, their role within the family unit, and even their rights before the law. If these women faced a variety of challenges and disadvantages that Chinese men did not, where do you situate the cause(s) of their plight? Did rural Chinese women have more standing and autonomy within society, or within their own family unit? Is their lowly status a function of Chinese modes of governance (under the ming and/or the Qing), or an outgrowth of traditional Chinese culture?